Exclusive: Flooding damage in the Big Thompson nea...: Join the Coloradoan for an inside look at damage in the Big Thompson Canyon betwen Estes Park and flood-ravaged Drake.

A collapsed section of U.S. Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon, as seen on Sept. 24, 2013. / Trevor Hughes/The Coloradoan

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A trip down the flood-ravaged Big Thompson Canyon from Estes Park shows the magnitude of work facing contractors and residents as they rebuild.

Large portions of the road, U.S. Highway 34, have been entirely wiped away or collapsed. Many homes suffered flood damage. Porches have been swept away, as have many bridges. Debris litters the riverbanks, and rocks tumble down from rain-soaked hillsides.

The floodwaters tumbled RVs like children's toys, and children's toys are lying in the ditches, swept away from front yards by historic water levels.

"It's really horrible," said Kristine Turner as she helped build a temporary footbridge to access flood-damaged family property.

Turner and her husband, Tracy, on Tuesday morning discovered a stranger's car had been jammed under their bridge by the raging waters. No one was in it, but they have no idea where it came from, and no idea how to remove it.

The Turners live near Drake, atop a hill. Their home was untouched by the waters, so they were helping relatives get access across the Big Thompson, which officials say is contaminated with raw sewage from a broken pipe in Estes Park.

Construction crews are already repairing the road, in many cases building temporary access across damaged roadbed so they can bring in even more equipment to make permanent repairs.

Drake itself is essentially an island. The road is totally washed out both above and below the 1,000-person community where people had to be evacuated via helicopter.

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said officials are still trying to understand the magnitude of the damage.

"It's not just the houses gone, but the whole section of land may be 20 feet lower than it was," he said.

Right now, primary access to Estes Park and points south requires a lengthy detour through Blackhawk, something Smith said his deputies are struggling with as they work to ensure people remain safe and property remains untouched by outsiders.

"We're trying to figure out how in the heck we routinely patrol these areas," he said.